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​At Green Connections 2016 visitors will get to hear about several fascinating innovations from Nordic companies. Scandinavian Centriair AB will be there and talk about their revolutionary odor control solutions that play an important role when building and operating waste-to-energy facilities. We met CEO Anders Wiström of CentriairUSA to learn more about this phenomenon.

Please describe the history of Centriair?

Scandinavian Centriair AB, founded in 2007, is incorporated in Sweden and is owned by the management team Per Kaijser and Jack Delin and senior staff. The first Centriair air emissions technology brought to market was a very high efficiency particle separation device for the Food industry. This device successfully removes 100 percent of oil droplets larger than 1 micron from deep frier exhaust gas as well as some odor removal. Teaming up with the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm provided a much deeper understanding of the formation and removal of odors and it was a natural step to expand the client base and provide odor removal solutions to the Waste and Biogas industry as well.

The core odor control technology perfected by Centriair is ColdOx™ and is incredibly effective. With the help of ultraviolet light, and sometimes an additional dose of ozone, odorous molecules are oxidized and the resulting fragments are absorbed in an active carbon filter. Odor removal techniques such as ColdOx™ and carbon filtration can be used separately or together and sometimes in combination with scrubbing to provide maximal performance while minimizing operational expenses. Any excess ozone, or ozone slip, is effectively removed within the carbon bed itself.

Centriair is a technology company. All our odor control processes are developed and tested in close collaboration with leading academic institutions and suppliers. Since 2007 we have an active research program with KTH in Stockholm. We work closely with professors from KTH and abroad within well defined focus areas ranging from molecular modeling, mixing theory and catalyst development to performance testing and process optimization. Each year we co-advise several MS thesis projects and provide support for visiting scholars and postdocs from KTH and other academic institutions. We are at the leading edge when it comes to understanding odor control and we work continuously to implement best practices in our installations. Our goal is to always improve - and the only way this can happen is by setting the bar higher and working tirelessly to get there.

What have been accomplished since the start?

One of our first major facilities using our ColdOx™ technology is a large solid waste receiving station serving over 800,000 persons living in and around the city of Gothenburg. This is a flagship installation and we continue to use it as a reference installation where we bring prospective customers to visit and talk to the facility operators. After the success of the Guthenburg facility we have built similar installations in other parts of Sweden and Norway and, most recently, in Poland.

Our U.S. venture started in 2014 with a thorough market analysis to better understand the drivers for advanced odor control and the regulatory environment in both the food and waste industry market segments. We have now incorporated Centriair in California with focus on After Sale Service and Support including warehousing and distribution of Centriair spare parts and supplies.

Why do you want to be a speaker of Green Connections 2016?

Green Connection 2016 is a great opportunity for us to introduce a great example of Scandinavian Cleantech Technology that has evolved in a very demanding market place with very high performance requirements. First, we believe that Centriair is an excellent example of Swedish Cleantech industry – the company is grounded on basic science and solid engineering to achieve excellent performance at a reasonable cost. Second, we have a track record of successes in Scandinavia and Europe where we are outcompeting many of the industry giants. Third, we understand from our experience in Sweden and elsewhere that waste-to-energy programs will be accepted by the public if, and only if, odor emissions are not an issue. So, there is a huge and growing need for advanced and cost-effective odor control technologies with guaranteed performance. This is even more true today as urbanization is encroaching on the once rural areas where industrial parks and wastewater treatment facilities were once situated in splendid isolation. It is hard and very, very expensive to move these facilities so our only alternative is to be good neighbors and eliminate odor emissions.

What do you hope to accomplish with the conference?

Specifically, we want to make it quite clear to our audience that waste-to-energy projects and the ensuing benefits of renewable energy are indeed compatible with other activities and land uses, including residential development, at least from an odor control point of view. We also want to make it known that proven odor control technologies with a guaranteed performance are readily available. And lastly, we would like to reach out to facility operators, engineers, and others to explore how we can assist you with your odor challenges.

What makes you interested in Cleantech?

I guess I have been an environmentalist all my life - working mostly in the water sector – from agricultural use of wastewater in Saudi Arabia to advanced water treatment plants in Oxnard. Having had the opportunity to study at UC Davis provided additional tools for effective problem solving in the real world. Bringing some of the knowledge of advanced oxidation processes in water treatment to treating air emissions is but a small step. Swedish Cleantech and Centriair is a natural progression where a fundamental understanding of science is combined with sound engineering principles to create technologies to solve real world problems. So Cleantech and Centriair is a very fun and exciting place to be.

Since you have been working and living in both Sweden and USA, what do you think that Sweden and USA can learn from each other within the Cleantech field?

The similarities between our two countries are many and generally I believe that we look to each other with both kindness and respect. Of course there are also differences. From a business perspective most of those differences are structural in nature and by understanding those differences we can find ways to bridge them. For example, the regulatory (odor) requirements in the EU market is quite uniform while the U.S. regulatory system is more fragmented with multiple jurisdictions layered upon each other. In other words, it is quite clear to us when odor control is needed in Belgium or Poland but here it may depend on what the locally elected officials at the wastewater agency may think at that time. So, the tools we use to gauge the potential market for our odor technologies are, of course, quite different. Similarly, government procurement routines are quite complex here, which can be a barrier for entry if going it alone

Swedish Cleantech has prospered because of long range planning coupled with setting societal goals on energy use, conservation and renewables, waste diversion, etc. This has led to a degree of predictability that empowers small businesses and startups to embark on developing new Cleantech technologies. This phenomena is not that much different than the U.S. successes in a variety of different fields including artificial intelligence, biotech, energy storage, robotics, etc. In Sweden, Centriair has benefited from the consistent support of granting agencies, long term collaboration with academia and a favorable regulatory climate to become a market leader in odor control technologies.

How does the future look for Centriair?

Absolutely fantastic! I am certain that Centriair has a bright future in Europe and here and that we will provide useful services and installations to our U.S. clients. In the U.S. and specifically in densely populated urban areas there is a large pent up demand for high performance odor control solutions that are robust and dependable in both steady-state and variable load conditions. For example, not long ago I sat down and talked with an official from a large wastewater agency that has postponed renovating the headworks because they lacked a dependable solution for the anticipated odor emissions.

In the near term, we plan to bring one of our trailered pilot systems to California to allow prospective clients to explore what combination of Centriair’s odor control technologies best fit their needs. The pilot unit is anticipated to be ready for deployment first quarter of 2017.

We can’t wait to hear more from Anders Wiström and Centriair at Green Connections on November 3rd. Anders will hold his speech about Odor technology and Bio waste at 9.30 am. Make sure to be there!Secure your conference ticket today through:http://www.sacc-sandiego.org/attend.html

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